Job Creation

The U.S. Auto Industry Drives Domestic Job Creation

From research labs and supplier factories to assembly lines and dealership showrooms, the auto industry supports nearly 8 million American jobs. In sum, the industry pays $500 billion in annual compensation, and generates $70 billion in personal tax revenue. While FCA US, Ford and General Motors are just three of the sixteen automakers competing in the U.S. market, they employ two-thirds of America’s autoworkers. Why do FCA US, Ford and General Motors contribute so much more to our economy? They conduct the bulk of their engineering, manufacturing, marketing and finance work here, in the United States. One out of three FCA US, Ford and General Motors employees are based in the U.S. Conversely, at Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai-Kia, BMW, Mercedes and VW (the seven largest foreign automakers), only six in one-hundred employees are based here. That six-fold difference translates into millions of indirect U.S. jobs, and tens of billions of dollars in parts sales, R&D and capital investment each year.

As low-skill manufacturing has shifted overseas, the importance of high-skill manufacturing, such as automobile manufacturing, has risen. Likewise, with auto sales rebounding from the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, the role of automakers in our economy will continue to grow. Industry experts predict FCA US, Ford and General Motors could hire 34,000 new workers over the next four years - those new jobs will support about 300,000 indirect new jobs at auto suppliers and other local businesses that serve FCA US, Ford and General Motors plants. The companies themselves currently operate more than 220 assembly plants, manufacturing facilities, research labs, distribution centers and other facilities, located in 32 states, across 115 Congressional districts. Further, their auto-dealer network independently employs 609,000 more Americans.

In total, FCA US, Ford, and General Motors account for more than 66% of U.S. auto-industry jobs, while only holding a 45% total share in the U.S. auto market. Because the three companies research, produce and manufacture more vehicles in the United States than any of their foreign competitors, they have proportionally more employees than the size of their market share. Compared to their competitors, six times more of their global work force is based in the U.S.

US Employment (YE 2015)

FCA US/Ford/ General Motors employ 2 out of 3 of America’s autoworkers, translating to 232,000 jobs.

Industries with Top 10 Highest Job Multipliers (2014)

Frank DuBois developed auto index and said, “What I’m trying to do is provide more information to consumers. After a house, a car is the largest purchase decision you’re going to make. If you believe country of origin is a critical part of the decision, this index provides you more information than what you’ll see on a sticker at a dealership.”

Ford Motor Co. announced Wednesday it will launch a pilot program to hire adults with autism on June 1.

Ford will create five positions in product development suited to the skills and capabilities of workers with autism for the program, called FordInclusiveWorks, the Dearborn-based automaker said in a news release. The program was developed with Autism Alliance of Michigan — a nonprofit founded by Dave Meador, vice chairman and chief administrative officer at DTE Energy Co. The alliance is funding the training program tied to the jobs.

General Motors will add production of its Chevrolet Silverado 1500 crew cab at the Flint Assembly plant beginning in 2017. The light duty truck is currently produced in Mexico. Flint Assembly also produces the heavy-duty Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks.

Ford unveiled sweeping plans today to redevelop dozens of buildings in Dearborn that house more than 30,000 employees in a project that will transform the automaker's presence in the city into two distinct campuses over the next 10 years.

The project, which represents an investment estimated at more than $1.2 billion, is intended to give Ford's employees the work environment and technology necessary to design and develop cars of the future.

In some ways, the massive project, in planning for more than three years, is long overdue.